What is Eternal
by Light Derived from Darkness
Summary: An eternity of service...you must give up your very life, your very soul, the most eternal part of yourself...and your son will be spared... [Ch. 13: Enter Jack Sparrow and William Turner.]
1. Lost Love

** Warning: **This fanfiction contains spoilers from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest, so if you haven't viewed the movie yet, I suggest you don't read this.

**Summary:** Of the many who've died at sea, there are also those who gave into the temptation instead of immortality, and by giving up the only immortal part of themselves. Their soul.

**Disclaimer: **The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and all its characters belong to Disney.

_"Throughout the ages, many a man has lost himself to the allure of the mighty and open sea, spanning on forever into the distance, and holding the potential for adventure. To those who would become part of a crew so young, it was like a sort of coming of age to grow up on the tossing waters, where each day could be a fight for survival. The sea, much like the broken land it wraps in a suffocating embrace, holds upon itself its share of the good and evil amongst men. From successful merchants, to fair maidens, to the most brutal and unforgiving pirates, all must equally face the danger and beauty of the waters they venture upon. For some time, there was always only the prominent dangers of the two different forces of men meeting with one another upon the ocean and clashing with one another, always resulting with more and more death and blood trailing deep into the waters below._

_But like with anything else that men have come to love, the sea became the obsession with the pirates who depended upon its gentleness to guide them along on their pursuit of wealth. There was no one so much in love with the sea than a pirate by the name of Davy Jones, a ruthless and equally famous pirate whose name could strike fear into the hearts of many men. With time, his fortune grew to immeasurable amounts, so much so that dedicated sailors and merchants would abandon their original lives just to be a part of success in pillaging other ships and villages that ended up in his path. Yet as time passed and the jewels and gold continued to fill his secret caverns and other hiding places, his love for material wealth began to wither. He felt as though he needed something else to feel complete, and he found this fulfillment in his love for the beautiful Maria Horsley._

_She had been found adrift by Jones's crew, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, pulled aboard their ship with tangled red hair and terrified blue eyes that pleaded for mercy. Battered and bloodied from the same storm that had engulfed her family and their ship, Jones had felt the first twinge of mercy that had ever come into his hardened heart, and she had been allowed to stay on the ship working as a cleaning maid and cook. The crew slowly became fond of her, but Jones swiftly found himself smitten with the shy and gentle woman he'd taken aboard his ship. He'd find any excuse to be down in the bowels of the ship as she scrubbed the floors or stirred the crew's meaty stew she had made. Maria had been quiet when she'd first become part of the crew herself, but she'd always talk whenever Jones would give her some company, and he soon discovered she returned the feelings he felt towards her. She even showed to him the one precious item she had kept through the tragedy that had claimed her family; a small, heart-shaped music box that played a soft and forlorn tune. He would listen intently when she wound wind it and allow it to play, and the haunting melody would fill the stagnate air of the ship. And for a short time, Jones couldn't have felt any more alive or content than he did when he had, above all else, Maria's love for him._

_But, like most things in life, it was a short-lived happiness. The sea, as if jealous of Jones sudden love for Maria over itself, turned her deadly fury against Jones's ship, and a massive storm struck unlike any the crew had seen before. The ship tossed and threatened to capsize as countless waves plowed against the weakening sides of the ship, sending several men overboard within moments of its arrival. Jones tied himself to the wheel up on the helm, watching the remainder of his crew scramble for cover or hoisting up the sails to try and keep the boat afloat. He sent word to his first mate to go to Maria and tell her to stay below deck no matter what, so she stayed safe. But he arrived too late; Maria had already managed to climb up from the lower levels of the ship to the top, determined to stay by Jones through the storm and fearful for him. She ran out onto the deck and ran trough the ankle deep water towards him, shouting his name, when suddenly a large wave rose up as though it had been awaiting her. Before she could even scream, Jones watched in horrified silence as the wave swept across the ship relentlessly and passed over, and Maria was gone. All that remained, clanging against the side of the ship, was the small music box. It began to play the moment she vanished into the sea, and continued to until the storm finally ended and the gears came to a stop._

_Nothing. Nothing ever filled the void after that, even slightly. No amount of treasure or wealth could heal the pain in his heart. His sadness and anguish slowly became hatred and bitterness, and slowly his humanity lessened. It was on the anniversary in fact, one year after her tragic death, that he lost it entirely. Standing upon the very edge of his ship, he cried out unto the sea, demanding to be the waters itself for all eternity. It was out of both love and greed that he wished this, both his love for Maria that had all but died into the hatred, and the love for the sea he'd had since his youth. _

"_Somewhere in this sea is my Maria, even if it is only her bones that remain. I will become these waters, I will become the same fury that brought her to me and then took her! I will become the fates of those who lost everything to these treacherous depths, even their very lives and souls! I will be with her again, even if it's just as a force that gave life and death to my love for her! And I will rid myself of this awful pain, of the emptiness I cannot fill, and I will make all others suffer the way I have…"_

_He shouted this just before he plunged the dagger into his heart, and suddenly the ship vanished into the sea itself, swallowed into its dark heart and transformed. When the ship resurfaces, it showed the signs of rot and decay, and so did its crew, slowly with time becoming more and more like the sea they had surrendered their very souls to. Davy Jones had surrendered his soul to the sea for his eternal life, the spirit that had made him human, and had cut out the heart that had once beat with love for Maria. He locked away his heart into a chest and buried it far away, knowing having it too near would weaken him and bring back the agony he had felt. Yet, the pain was never truly gone for him, and sadness would sometimes penetrate the brutal maliciousness that had now consumed him. He had control over all the seas and its creatures, including the mighty Kraken that lurked in the darkness of the sea, and gave the same choice to every man who managed to survive the monstrous creature's fury. To either die, or surrender their soul and become like Davy Jones and all his crew had become, destined to forever evade judgment while handing it down to others in a cruel manner._

_When I gave up my soul, I gave up everything I had had. I could never go home again, or even leave the decaying Flying Dutchman any longer. It was then that the horrible realization came to me that I would never see my son again, though now I suppose I should be thankful for that. I would never want Will to be plagued with the image of me today, slowly becoming a gruesome and beastly part of the sea itself. I saw my mistake too late, just how much I had sacrificed in order to avoid judgment and death. _

_This is a word of warning to those who will heed it; to have immortality and extended life, you must give up to one part of yourself that was immortal from the moment you were conceived. The very soul that pulsates within you, that makes you human, much like the soul locked away in the heart that Captain Davy Jones carved out of himself. It still beats even after all this time, in its lonely prison."_


	2. The Darkess of Night

A night aboard any ship is always the gloomiest part of any voyage, but none so dreary as it always was on the Flying Dutchman. Captain Jones's sadness and anger cast the ship into a constant state of rainfall when it darkened and he would retreat to his quarters, his peg leg thundering against the rotted planks. After he arrived there, there would be a period where the ship would be filled with the sound of organ pipes screaming throughout the ship, Jones forced to play out his sorrows using the tentacles that had come with his mutation, neither of his hands resembling human's anymore. Bill's room was directly below Jones's, but the music was almost a comfort to him. It both broke the silence of the ship, and it reflected a similar pain within him as well.

He knew it was essential he keep his protectiveness for his son a safeguarded secret; it didn't matter if he was imprisoned to this life now, he had to do what he could to keep William from ever following the same path he had chosen. In a sense, he was also afraid too that his actions would be what doomed Will to a similar fate, or any sort of pain or death that Jones might contrive. He was well aware of the old saying, "the sins of the father are brought unto the son," and he feared that he had sentenced his only child to a similar fate because of what he'd done. He lived everyday in fear of this, but it was something he kept silent and hidden from the others. If Jones ever found out this weakness in him, he knew the Captain would exploit it in whatever way he could. He knew the other members of the crew had no ties to the outside world anymore that their lives revolved around the prospect of what they would gain, the chance to extend their lives. And yet, here Bill was, wishing his own would end. It was a cruel irony that plagued him everyday. But unlike the others, he had a sense of hope that was buried deep within him, something he held onto no matter how grim things appeared.

It was the memories he kept, though they were becoming faint and distant from his corroding mind. He refused to allow any of his current pains or grievances to steal those from him, remembering his wife, of Will's childhood, of some of the last moments he'd had with his family before this life had consumed him. He could still see his wife's smile, hear his son's innocent laughter, even in the darkness of the ship. It was what made him hold onto the little humanity that hadn't died within him, it made him feel alive, if only a little. He knew, if he ever lost his hold on those memories, then all would be lost. And if Jones found out, not only would he find a way to take this from Bill, but he would make sure Will suffered somehow as well.

Bill trudged along the hallways of the ship, keeping his balance as the vessel lurched from side to side. The lanterns would flicker on and off at times, the flames in them aggravated by the motion. He listened as the organ playing eventually came to a climatic stop, when Jones finally allowed his weariness to overcome him. The captain would struggle to wind the music box placed beside him, and then fall asleep listening to the sad and innocent melody that would escape from it. It brought a pang of pain to Bill as well as he listened, hearing the chimes of the music box above the captain's low snoring. It was another memory, of his wife singing the same song to Will when he was young. Time had long since stolen memory of the lyrics to the lullaby, and so he simply hummed it quietly to himself as he paced. Some of the other crew was still awake, in the kitchen drinking down rum and boasting about who had more time of existence than the others. He grimaced, feeling the searing pain as more growths emerged from the flesh of his neck and the side of his head; his transformation was only in its early stages compared to the others, and it was an agonizing one. When it had first happened, he had spent countless nights clawing at whatever surfaced from his skin, but it would simply come back like a disease that would never leave, until he gave up gradually. After all, no amount of willpower or physical resistance would ever halt the transformation he was undergoing…

Bill found himself a small, unused room to rest within, sitting on a rotting bench against the wall and allowing himself to slowly fall asleep. He listened to the tossing of the waves and the sound of the ship as it was submerged under the water; the Captain sometimes forced the ship beneath the water by night when they would slumber. Bill's vision faded and finally subsided altogether as the room filled with water, and a quiet filled the boat as water filled the gears of the music box and silenced it.


	3. Prisoners

_ It was already morning, another night having passed just as so many others had. Most of the crew was still heartily sleeping, including the captain, as the early hours of dawn crept over the horizon and the seas shifted in welcome to the sun. But as the first few rays of sunlight began to penetrate the murky waters that kept the submerged Flying Dutchman concealed, a few faint sounds also interrupted the solitude beneath the water as well. Bill stirred slightly, his eyes opening slightly as it moved overhead; the small shape of a simple rowboat, being guided across the water gently. But it was a piercing sound to those who dwelt in the pure silence in the deep, and the Captain's shrouded eyes eventually opened as well._

_When Bill arrived to the deck of the ship, the other pirates had already arrived there. Captain Jones stood upon the Helm, looking towards the surface with a weary but almost curious expression; true, they had settled in by land, but it had been supposedly uninhabited territory. And this wasn't someone who had been shipwrecked or cast at sea, because within a moment of all standing quietly and watched the small boat tread across the water, they heard someone singing from above. It was a woman's voice, muffled by the water, but still reaching them nonetheless._

_Captain Jones allowed a slight grimace to come over his face before his usual serious expression returned, with a twinge of agitation. Bill guessed what was about to come, and looked up sadly towards the surface. 'I wish…I could tell them to run, to try and escape…' He knew the Captain wouldn't bother with summoning the might of the Kraken from the deepest depth of the sea; no, instead it seemed whomever was on the boat unaware was going to suffer a more gruesome fate…_

Treva rowed along gently; she wasn't very strong, but enough so to move herself and her son along in the boat at a decent speed. Meris grinned and hung his arms over the side of the boat, letting the water trail between his fingers as he smile widened, revealing his two lost baby teeth. Treva breathed in the fresh morning air, loving the feeling of being the only ones on this large portion of coastline. The air was crisp as a new day was being born, and the water was flat and allowed the boat unhindered passage.

"When is daddy going to come home…?" Meris asked yet again, and Treva sighed as she paused in her rowing for a moment.

"You know he's on a long trip Meris, he had to travel to a foreign place to protect a merchant ship…" she explained, and the boy sighed and just looked down into the water. She knew he missed his father greatly, but it was all a part of her Carlisle being an admiral. And with so many pirates out and about these days, it was an understandable precaution for him to venture alongside the traders who dared cross the vast sea.

Meris was right about to reply, when suddenly he looked straight down into the water with a bewildered and fascinated expression. "Mommy…mommy there's a ship down there…and it's coming up right over there!" he pointed outwards, indicating just beyond where they were sitting on the water.

Treva sighed, brushing some hair out of her face. "I'm sure it's just your imagin-"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence before suddenly a ship did indeed appear beside them, a massive vessel that sent a wave towards their small boat as it rose from the depths of the water. Treva let out a scream and grabbed Meris, holding onto him as their small rowboat was tossed and finally spun to a stop alongside the ship. Trembling, she looked up at the side of the ship, which she instantly saw was all but decaying before her very eyes. Scrawled in old, faded writing on the side of the ship was its christened name, the Flying Dutchman.

"Mommy…" Meris said, looking up at the ship as well as the sky seemed suddenly cast in darkness, and for a moment everything hung in still silence. "I'm scared…where…how did they come out of the water like that…?"  
"I don't know…" she said quietly, suddenly feeling their small boat shudder as a large wave suddenly lifted it from the level water and become to carry it up towards the deck of the ship. The air suddenly smelled foul and stagnate as she cringed, closing her eyes and pressing her son's face against her shoulder, as though that would truly protect him from whatever awaited them.

They were dumped unceremoniously onto the deck of the ship, their small rowboat turned to splinters as it collided with the deck. Treva cringed as jagged mussels and other growths upon the deck gashed her skin when they landed, and she could hear assorted mutterings around her. After a moment of shaking, she slowly opened her eyes, and immediately her expression grimaced into one of horror.

The crew aboard the ship they had been cast onto…they weren't human. Instead, what she saw were mangled versions of humans merged with sea creatures, their bodies and faces distorted to the point where she sensed little to no humanity within them. They all smelt of rot and decay just like the ship, and showed outward signs of it as well. Even as she watched, the boils and other filth on them oozed and spewed onto the deck. She cringed and drew back against the railing, feeling the sharp edges of shells against her back. The members of the crew smirked at her cruelly, but their obvious amusement at her terror was nothing compared to the fear she experienced next when slowly, a sound began to resonate throughout the ship.

The thundering sound of something heavy dropping against the weathered planks and coming towards them at a maddeningly slow pace, and she watched as the inhuman crew parted to either side to allow the figure approaching them through. She could barely look up as the Captain of the crew arrived, only halting when he was towering over them. There was only the trace of a grin on his face as he watched them cower.

"You decided on a poor choice of sea to be venturing on…" he said, observing how she was clutching the child so protectively. "And what do we have here…? A precious child…" he shook his head in a mock disapproving way. "Children aren't meant to be on a pirate ship…but I'm sure we can fix that problem quite easily…"

Before Treva could even react, Meris was torn from her and held up in the air by one of the crewman, a particularly frightening one fused with a hammerhead shark, who gave her a toothy smirk as he held a large serrated blade to the boy's neck. The Captain's grin widened slightly as Treva got onto her feet but was halted by two other crew man who viciously held her back, making her powerless to stop them.

"Please, don't hurt my son! He's innocent…he hasn't done anything to deserve this…" her voice was panicked and drained thanks to her horror of the situation at hand. "Please…I'll give you anything…just please spare him…" she begged, tears falling down her cheeks in anguish.

The Captain paused, his expression softening for a mere moment, and not enough that she could detect it. "Anything you say…?" he finally said, lowering his head so he could face her levelly. "Even…your very soul…?"

She just stared at him for a moment in silence, still sobbing slightly from her pleading. "Y-yes…anything…if you promise he won't be hurt…" she said softly, and the Captain stood erect once more and signaled to his minion to release Meris. Her son was ruthlessly dropped to the ground in a shivering heap.

"Ah, the desperation of a loved one…willing to do anything to save another…" the Captain said, holding binary tones in his voice. He sounded as though he were both mocking her and at the same moment could relate to the pain of such a situation. "But if that is what you wish…my promise will be your son will be spared from any harm…and in return your soul belongs to me…_forever_…" his ominous voice bargained, barely above a whisper. Treva just nodded her head weakly and took in a shaky breath.

Davy Jones turned from her. "Very well then…when nightfall arrives…it will then be time for your to carry out your half of our…agreement…but to make sure make sure you can't escape it…"

He suddenly turned once more and seized her hand into his own deformed, slimy hand, and she felt a painful burning sensation in her hand. He released her hand, and terrible burn mark appeared on her hand. "If you try to escape, that mark will lead me to where you are…and you've no means to leave this ship at all…" the Captain said, turning as his archaic robes billowed in the wind that struck them, pushing the ship away from shore, and thus any hope of her going onto land.

"But wait…what about Meris…my son…" she said weakly. "You said you were spare him…"

"And I have from harm, but I never said anything about releasing him…" the Captain said simply in his hollow voice, before his thundering steps revealed he'd returned to the helm once more.

Treva was taken down into the bowels of the ship and thrown into a cell, and Meris into another a small distance from her. She sat down in the corner, listening to her son cry and call for her, but she was too stunned to respond.

In her heart, she knew she had just sold her soul to the devil himself…


	4. The Price of Immortality

Hours passed as the day slowly was lost, an hourglass sitting just outside her cell counting every last second of humanity she had left. Meris had settled into a restless slumber in his cell; every few moments she would hear him toss or murmur something in his sleep. She could only see a few wisps of his golden hair from where her cell was, and she wished more than anything her last few hours could be spent with him at least, or outside of this darkness. It seemed the Captain had made sure her last precious moments would be spent in these miserable conditions, and she was nearly about to fall asleep herself when suddenly she realized someone was looking at her.

She gasped and looked up, seeing one of the members of the crew looking down at her through the bars of the cell. But unlike the hardened and cruel jeers the others had given her earlier, this being looked far kinder. He was also less transformed than the others, only about half of his body having succumbed to the deathliness of the entire ship.

He silently took a seat upon a barrel just outside her cell before he began to speak to her. "I know it provides you with little consolation…but…I admire what you did, for the sake of your son…" he said quietly, his rough voice sounding by far the gentlest she'd heard today. "I have a son as well…far older than yours, but I know the feeling of wanting to protect your child from harm…"

Treva slowly edged to the bars where she slumped against them, looking up towards the stranger with a weary gaze. "Is that why you're here…trapped on this ship…?"

"No…I'm trapped her because of my own foolishness…my own selfish want…" he replied, his gaze falling to the floor. "Your sacrifice…it brings me great shame, to have witnessed you surrender your very soul to save your son from death…and to have sold mine away for wretched immortality…"

"Immortality…?" she echoed what he said. "You mean…when you become like that…you become immortal…?" The stranger nodded quietly.

"It's what many men have sought after since the beginning of time itself…of living forever, or having all the time they need to achieve everything they've ever wanted…it's man's foolish want to act as his own God, to be able to change his fate…but in exchange, he received this miserable one…" he stood from the barrel with a forlorn expression. "But yes, this is immortality…to become one with the sea itself, an unchallenged force in its own right. Of course, in our case immortality doesn't mean living forever…there are certain complications that could keep us from doing so…"

Treva listened to him in silence, listening to his voice crackle and shake slightly. "But how did you end up here…if you think immortality is so terrible…?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I've been a pirate for a good share of my life…Bootstrap Bill Turner, a title I used to be so proud of. But, I was sentenced to this fate when I chose to mutiny against the captain of my ship…we cast him overboard, and I thought that it would be like life starting anew again on the Black Pearl…but instead, I met with death. The other members of the crew turned against me as well, and I met my end with a sword across my neck…" Treva watched him dragged his pale, scaly finger across his throat to emphasize this, several small shells and other growths being torn from his flesh and falling to the ground. She cringed slightly and continued listening to his story.

"To most, that would have been the end of the tale…but for pirates that die at sea…there is another option they chose besides facing Judgment. You can sell your soul to Davy Jones, who gives you another chance at unhindered life…or so it seemed. Without a soul, your body is no longer human…it is possessed by the monstrous grip of the sea, and slowly merges with it. That is why I, as well as the others here, all appear the way he do now. Because we do not exist outside this ship, outside the sea itself. We can still walk on land, unlike the Captain…but there is little use to anymore. People would only fear us…for we are no longer amongst the living anymore." He paused for a moment, looking down at his intertwined fingers. "Life…is not without a sense of irony. In order to obtain immortality, you must give up the only eternal part of yourself…"

Treva picked herself up and sat down onto the small bench latched to the wall, setting her hands on her knees. "But I'm not a pirate…and I'm not dead…how can he hold me to this agreement without those prerequisites for becoming a part of his crew…?" she asked softly, and he just looked at her with a twinge of sadness.

"I don't know…" he said quietly. "But, I can promise you this…with whatever happens, I want you to consider me an ally…even if you trust no one else on board the Flying Dutchman…" he said, standing once more, his attention suddenly drawn towards the approaching voices and the thundering step of the Captain making his way down towards the cell. "Just do what you can…to stay brave for your son…" he said quietly, before walked off to the side. When she stood and looked to see where he'd went, there was nothing with an empty wall to greet her. She wished she'd gotten to talk with him a bit more, even with the strong fear plaguing her. He'd give her some sense of comfort that she and Meris would not be entirely alone, but he hadn't been able to warn her of what fate awaited her.

She sighed and took a seat once more, sitting there with as calm an air as she could muster, her hands folded on her lap and her eyes closed as the door into the makeshift dungeon burst open.

"Prayers will do you no good, my dear…" Captain Jones said as he watched her, unhindered by his words. He hands clenched into tight, painful fists as he spoke to her. "Because your soul no longer belongs to any higher power…it will soon belong to me…"


	5. Heartless

Treva struggled to no avail as she was brought to the Captain's quarters. She knew this was something she had to accept, to keep Meris safe, but she was so afraid that her body naturally attempted to free itself from the ironclad grips of the two pirates that led her there. The Captain walked in front of them without a word, an almost distant look on his face. Behind them, A few other pirates followed along, Bill amongst them, as well as her son who was being carried like a parcel under the arm of an uncaring pirate. At one instance Bill gently rested his hand on her shoulder to calm her, and it worked a bit. She eventually settled down and just allowed herself to be guided along wordlessly.

The Captain's quarters was as cluttered and filthy as the rest of the ship, but Treva looked up at his massive pipe organ in slight fascination. She had always loved music, though she wasn't very good at producing it herself, and her eyes eventually fell onto the small, heart-shaped music box that the Captain had placed next to the keys. But before she could make anymore of this, her attention was suddenly pulled back to the situation at hand when she noticed the Captain ruffling through a small chest sitting beside his organ.

"Tell me, my dear…what is it you love…?" he said, his voice grim, and in some strange way curious. Treva couldn't help but wonder what that had to do with anything, but she swallowed and answered him. "I…I love my family…my son, my husband…and my siblings…my family is…very precious to me…" she said softly, looking back to glimpse Meris, who was watching all this with a look of confusion and fear. The poor child had no idea what was about to happen to his mother, or of what she had had to give up to keep him from facing a similar fate. "But…above all else…I…I love God…" her expression distorted slightly, into one of anger. "And He'll stop you, you monster! From hurting my son, or anyone else like this…"

Davy Jones smirked faintly as he turned; in his hands was a small, serrated blade that had faint smears of dried blood still on it. "That is where you are sorely mistaken…you see, your soul is about to be in my hands, and that means there will be no judgment for you, no means to pray or hope anymore…" he took a few steps towards her, halting but a few inches away. She looked down at the floor, not watching to see his wretched smile anymore. "Your son Meris told me your name is Treva…" he placed the point of the blade beneath her chin, forcing her to look up and face him. "But soon…the person you are now will cease to exist anymore…"

"What are you going to do…?" It wasn't Treva who dared ask this, but Bill, his voice quiet and his gaze towards them both. The Captain gave him a look of faint anger, pulling the blade out from under her chin and leaving a small gash upon it. She cringed and yelped slightly, but didn't do anything as the blood trickled softly onto the floorboards. Davy Jones stepped around her so he was a bit closer to Bill instead.

"I know what you're thinking…I heard the small conversation you two had earlier…" Davy said with a knowing look, but Bill's expression wasn't fazed at all by the Captain's casual air about what was at hand. "How can I bind an innocent victim to the ship? Well it's actually rather easy…you see, when I sacrificed myself all those years ago, it was a choice I made for myself, and she's made the same. But this has a far stronger bond than anything you or the others on this ship have…this is an eternal tie…" he said, stepping back to where he had been. "For you see, she's not just going to give up her soul…it's her heart that's going to keep her here for all eternity…"

The other pirates fell quiet, and Bill's once calm expression turned into one of faint horror as he looked from the Captain to Treva, who paled to the color of a ghost as he said this. "For you see…giving up your heart is what truly makes you lose your link to humanity…and that's what you've promised for the safety of your son…now hold her still."

Treva felt herself be pushed forward, her wrists and shoulders still being gripped by her captors. Meris was only beginning to understand what was about to happen, but as Davy raised the dagger into the air to do as he had said he would, Bill wrenched the boy from the crewman who had been forcing him to watch was about to happen. He covered the child's eyes with his hand, his other arm wrapped around Meris's shoulders as the boy shuddered by the cold feel of his remaining flesh, and the sharp ends of the jagged shells. Bill himself couldn't even watch as stabbed the dagger into her chest, cutting a rough line before placing the blade aside and thrusting his hand into her open wound. Treva didn't make a sound, the life in her eyes draining as Davy gripped her heart in his misshapen hand and wrenched it out from her. Treva's form fell limp when he did this, but the heart in his hand remained beating as he held it with a tender grasp. The pirates set Treva's body onto the floor as her skin slowly began to change, her lifeless body beginning its transformation before their very eyes.

Davy looked at the heart he held in his hand for a moment, feeling the life still pulsating through it, and then turned and set it into a small box with small engravings carved into the sides of it. "Just like my heart…hers will forever remain under lock and key…" he clasped the top of the box back onto it, twisting the lock shut with a key and then placing the key into the breast pocket of his matted vest, just above where his heart would have been.

"Take her back to the cell, she will remain there for the night…" the Captain commanded, and she was hoisted up from the ground and placed back down into there. Once she was gone Bill removed his hand from Meris's eyes, but the boy could still see the blood on the ground and hear the beating coming from within the box.

"What did you do to mommy…?" the boy asked shaking, but the Captain just gave him a cold, unsympathetic look as Bill took the boy by the wrist and pulled him from the room without a word.


	6. Transformed

When Treva finally regained consciousness, she awoke to sight of a ravaged monster looking at her from outside the cell, and cringed, drawing back against the wall. After a few seconds of shock had subsided, she drew closer and realized that it was not a being staring in at her, but her own reflection staring back at her from the dusty surface of a large bronze plate resting against the wall. She reached up, a new form of shock coming over her as she observed what had happened to her. Her skin had become silvery around her face, like the smooth surface of an aquatic creature, but interrupted by small mussels forcing their way slowly and painfully from her skin, and scaly deformities here and there. Several of her fingers had fused with the ones beside them, leaving a thin veil of skin beginning to grow into webbing between them like in a fish's fin. Her once thick dark brown hair had already withered and all but vanished, the remaining portions of it left in matted clumps up on her head. Her eyes were also completely different, the whites of them suddenly darkened with only a small white circle at the center to show which way she was looking.

She cupped her face in her hands and began to weep, though no tears materialized, she still sat sobbing and shaking in the corner of the cell, still feeling the sharp and strange pains as her body continued it's mutation.

"So, you're finally awake…" Treva looked up to see Davy Jones standing outside her cell suddenly, off to the side so she could still partially see her reflection in the plate. "I suppose it's time for you to start your duties, now that your transformation is partially done…" he pulled out a set of keys, unlocking the door to the cell and allowing the door to fall open and allow her passage out. She stumbled and staggered on unfamiliar legs, her legs and feet undergoing the same changes as the rest of her. "You had better get used to feeling like this, the entire transformation can take a long time to settle in all the way…"

Treva balanced herself against the wall, brushing past him and not responding to his words towards her; after what he'd done, she had nothing to say to the Captain, except to ask a single question. "Where is my son…?"

"Up on the deck, wondering where you've been…of course, none of us had the heart to tell him what had really happened to you…" Davy grinned darkly and slightly, but Treva just halted and realized the implication he was making; Meris didn't know she was going to look this way when he saw her. "We thought it would be best to keep quiet about how you had become a monstrosity just as we all are, but I'm sure he's bound to find out soon…"

"Why…why did you do this to us?" she asked quietly, forcing herself towards the door and up the rickety ladder to get to it. Cobwebs and other forms of debris were shook loose from around the trapdoor that would take her back up to the main deck.

"The sea is a harsh and unforgiving force my dear…and I am the embodiment of the sea. I take no mercy on whomever crosses my path…" he replied, his crab-like hand snapping shut to enforce the bluntness of his statement. "If anything you should feel thankful, I gave you an opportunity I've given to no one else I've come upon. The chance to save someone else…" his voice suddenly faltered slightly, and she turned and noticed the slight expression of sadness on his face. But it was gone as quickly as it came and he looked up at her with a serious expression.

Treva turned and just continued climbing the ladder before he ridiculed her more; his verbal cruelty combined with the physical agony she was in made her movements rigid and forced. She glimpsed down at her chest, a gaping hole still present where her heart had literally been severed from her. She wondered if Davy had a similar wound there; he'd mentioned something about having come to the same fate, though how and why still eluded her.

The sunlight felt foreign to her as she stumbled into it, and was only met with vicious words from the crew members already present up on the deck, going about their duties in a systematic way. Her scaly feet ached as they were dragged across the splintered planks, but she finally found where Meris was. He was seated upon a small barrel, his arms crossed up on the railing around the sides of the ship. He was looking down into the water with a weary and fearful expression, and she halted where she was as she watched him.

How was she going to explain this to him? He was only seven years old, hardly old enough to realize just what had happened to her, and what may happen to him now that they were both trapped on board the Flying Dutchman. She swallowed dryly, resolving to simply reveal this to him swiftly and pray that he would believe it was truly her. She was right about to make her way over to him when she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Bill looking at her with a faint smile.

"Don't worry…I already did what I could to explain to him what occurred…he knows you're going to look this way…" he said softly, and Treva couldn't have felt any more grateful towards him than she did that moment. "Like I promised…I'll do what I can to help you."

Treva nodded, then looked back at Meris and gently walked towards him. Bill stayed where he was, allowing the two to experience this revelation without his hindrance. Meris did indeed look a bit stunned when his mother did finally reach him, but was more saddened than horrified.

"The mean captain did this to you, didn't he…?" Meris said quietly, and Treva just smiled sadly and held him close, stroking his hair softly.

"Yes, but…mommy wanted to make sure you were safe…" she said quietly to him. "Captain Jones and his crew haven't done anything to hurt you, have they?"

Meris shook his head slightly with it resting against the base of her neck. "No…but Bill's been really nice to me…he even caught me some fish when I was hungry…"

Treva's weak smile broadened very slightly as Meris recounted the comical manner he and Bill had managed to catch some fish earlier; this was going to be exceedingly difficult for them to accept, but at the very least she did have one friend aboard the ship. And she knew she could trust him simply by the way he spoke and acted, but there was a sadness about him that greatly troubled her. It was so thick it was almost paralyzing to her as well, and during that brief moment down in the brig of the ship, she had sensed the same kind of sadness from the Captain as well.

'I wonder…what happened to all of them…'


	7. All in a Night's Work

Treva sighed, holding in one hand a wiry scrubbing brush and in the other a rusted bucket of seawater. Night was beginning to fall and several swinging lanterns illuminated the ship as it continued silently across the misty waters.

"It's an endless task…" Bill had told her earlier when he'd been told to give her the meager supplies. "This ship is the very essence of decay and grime; it constantly submerges and gathers all kinds of filth…but it's the Captains orders and you're abided to do as he commands."

Most of the crew had retired for the night, save for a handful that still dwelt in the dark corners of the ship with bottles of sour rum in their hands, some of them in a comatose sleep while others still mustered the coherence to jeer at her. It seemed even in their transformed states, some of them weren't able to hold down their liquor incredibly well, and Treva began her task at the Helm of the ship. She blended some rotted fruit juices into the salty water, along with some liquid squeezed from seaweed she'd gathered in old fishing nets. The combined materials from both created a slightly better cleaning fluid that she used to begin scrubbing at the deck with. It was hard to get everything cleared; she'd have to put everything she tore off the wood into a pile and dump it overboard, and at times the floorboards squeaked and threatened to break underneath her. She missed none of the nooks and crannies throughout the Helm, pulling and cleaning away all sorts of living and dead filth that had gathered in there all those years.

She knew her efforts were futile; everything she picked and peeled away would simply be there again the next night. But in a way, it was a distraction to get her mind off of her situation. Every now and then, however, the realization that she may be doing this forever would cause a searing pain of fear in the gash where her heart used to be. But she didn't allow herself to falter and continued working until the twilight overhead faded into complete darkness. She would sometimes halt in her duties for a few moments, slumped against whatever was available to her, and looked up at the stars glimmering overhead, or she would make sure Meris was still asleep. He'd been given a small, ancient closet as a bedroom with just enough room for him to curl up on the damp and mildewed mattress that had been stuffed into it. She had put several blankets atop him, but he continued shivering all through the night.

It was around the time when the darkness had finally come full circle that she was startled by a sudden sound that came from down below; the churning groans of a pipe organ that shook the very foundations of the Flying Dutchman. The exhaustive, dusty air that billowed out of the pipes spewed up through the cracks in the boards, and she listened as a loud and sorrowful melody caused the ship to shudder. It was then she remembered seeing the organ in the Captain's chambers, standing poised against the far wall. She listened as the keys cracked and strained to produce the tortured song, and her expression softened slightly.

Her suspicions, it seemed, were true. There was something deep within Davy Jones that was causing him great pain. The music was a real enough testament to this, but she knew venturing into what it could be might mean making the Captain even more bitter towards her. So instead she continued cleaning until the hours of dawn approached and she finally collapsed, too distant from the room to hear the gentle chimes of the music box when Davy wound it up and played it before falling asleep himself.

"We're not allowed to speak of what we know…" Bill said, casting a net over the side of the ship. Fish was the only food they could provide for Meris, since it was the only nourishment needed for anyone else on board. "The Captain's past is something that belongs in pirate lore and nothing more…"

"But I heard the music last night, it sounds so sad…like he was suffering…" she said, though she didn't sound too pitying towards whatever his plight was.

"Captain Jones always plays his organ before he slumbers…" Bill said, wrenching to pull the now filled net back up onto the ship. "It's a ritual to him now…but listen well to me. You can't be asking questions like that; the people here on board chose this fate to escape the lives they had before, and dredging up old wounds and memories will only cause you more distress…"

Treva sighed and nodded, knowing he was right. After all, she was already an outcast on board the ship, being the only female and not a hardened pirate. Besides, she reasoned too that even if she did discover what caused the feeling of sadness that loomed over the ship, she didn't owe anything to anyone on board outside of what she'd promised Jones.

"What about you?" she asked quietly.

"What about me?" he blinked slowly, not looking towards her when she asked him this.

"You…you seem so sad usually…even when you're showing Meris and I this kindness…"

Bill just sighed and hoisted the fish into barrels. "Mine is an empty existence, and that's all you need to know…" he said simply, beginning to clean the fish in order to cook them. "I don't know if I'm like this to escape my previous life or trying to recapture it…"

Treva listened quietly. "I see…I suppose, with whatever life you did have…suddenly being in this position would seem rather startling…"

Bill nodded, then glimpsed towards the door that led to the sleeping quarters. "I have this feeling about you Treva…that somehow…you'll be the one who changes this miserable existence for all of us…"

Treva blinked, helping him clean the fish, though cringing when she had to remove the bones. "Why do you say that…?"

Bill realized perhaps he'd said too much and just shrugged, continuing with his duties, and Treva didn't pry any further into it.


	8. Mischief and Loss

"I never thought I would forgive the sea after what happened to my family…but you've really shown me it can be both beautiful…"

_"And very dangerous," he finished, a small smile formed around the end of his pipe as he watched the waves curl up the sides of the ship. "But you're right, it's very beautiful. You just need to understand how it behaves, and then that danger becomes smaller with time."_

_Maria just continued watching out in the distance, as though there were things she could see in the vastness that no one else could. It was one thing about her that Davy absolutely adored; her now shared fascination in the sea. It was a great love they could share together alongside their own for each other._

_"Just be careful not to lean too far over the edge, you might-" Just as he began to give her the warning, she suddenly tumbled right over the railing and out of sight. His expression turned to horror as he dropped his pipe and ran over to the side, expecting with utter dread to look down and see her floating atop the water turquoise waters. _

Instead, he saw her grinning mischievously up at him from a small ledge that she had purposely fallen onto.

"Boo!" Meris shouted, suddenly popping out from an old foghorn that jutted rustily up from the deck. Treva had nearly jumped out of her skin; Meris was covered in dust and had appeared as swiftly as any spirit might have, and once she'd given him a good boxing for spooking her, she sent him to help Bill with whatever duties he had.

It had already been a week since she had become a part of the crew and ship, and still her meaningless task continued. But she noticed a difference; the other members of the crew were beginning to become less malicious towards her. Many of them just ignored her and paid her no mind, which she preferred far more than the harassment they'd given her when she'd first arrived. Though Davy Jone's first mate, the hammerheaded pirate Beauregard Dougal, always seemed to be keeping an eye on her. Beauregard wasn't afraid to make her job more futile than it was, knocking over stacks she'd made of various material that had been scrubbed from the floors and sides.

"I think there's something alive here…" Treva commented one day as she cleaned out one of the large, murky closets the ship, seeing some fleeting shadows as she moved rusted chains and broken barrels aside.

"Unless it's a stowaway, I don't care…" Beauregard said gruffly, his arms crossed and his figure a menacing addition to the corridor outside of the closet. Meris had attempted to see her earlier only to be scared off by the hulking pirate.

"You will if you wake up finding it nibbling on you…" Treva said, sitting up and wiping off her forehead. She cringed as the mussels tore into her arm; she still wasn't used to the inhuman growths that randomly sprouted from her head, since the pain had finally subsided.

"Hmph, I'd gobble it up before it got within ten paces from me…" he said with a slight snarl, revealing his rows of shark teeth that gleamed faintly in the lantern light. "Besides, that's part of your job, _maid_. You gotta kill whatever damned creatures you find on board…"

Treva just gave him a look behind his back and then got back to work, finishing her cleaning and moving on to the next room. She didn't see the creature again thankfully and once she was done she went looking for Meris outside. She found him attempting to help Bill hoist up one of the sails, which was no easy task for anyone, especially a small child. She smiled as she watched Bill secretly helping Meris do so, commenting on his amazing strength while discreetly doing all the work himself.

When the sail was finally in the appropriate position, Meris scampered over to Treva and wedged himself in her arms. By now, she had only three finger-like appendages to each hand and thin webbing between them, and her hair was beginning to grow back in some patches while she remained bald in others. She'd also noticed that the fleshy part of her nose was beginning to harden lately, but she tried to not think anything of it.

"Mommy, did you see how I put up that sail? Bill says I'm really strong…" Meris said proudly, pointing upwards at the rotted fabric of the sails that wafted in the afternoon breeze. She smiled, though the damp reek that came off of it was making her stomach turn slightly; she wondered just how everything on board always seemed so wet and moist, even if they were at sea.

"Yes, that's very impressive Meris…you are very strong…" she said with a small smile, ruffling his hair slightly before the boy released her and ran off, beginning to climb atop some crates in order to see over the side.

"Thanks for that, Bill…Meris needs to have someone like you around, especially during these times…" Treva said, and Bill nodded as he wrapped the rope holding the sail through a rung hanging out of the mast.

"Think nothing of it…he reminds me of my son, Will, back when he was very young…" Bill said, attempting to keep his expression from saddening even with the remembrance.

"You've mentioned your son quite a few times…you must miss him," Treva said, helping him to tie the knot in the rope; Bill's hands were shaking and she noticed they were becoming more and more covered by scaly forms and shells.

"I do miss him, greatly…" Bill said, his voice shivering slightly despite the humid heat outside. "But…I would never want him to see me like this…I don't think he'd even recognize me if he did see me again. The time that has passed and the distance between us is a blessing in disguise." But his voice didn't sound too convinced of this; Treva could detect more and more sorrow beginning to slip into his usually calm façade and tone.

"You don't truly believe that, do you?" Treva said, standing erect again and wiping the slimy residue from her hands when she was done fiddling with the rope. "Look at Meris and myself…even with me in this state, he still knows I'm his mother, and he still knows I love him. I think Will would think the same thing, regardless of what's happened and how long it's been…"

Bill looked as though he wanted to believe her, the sadness in his eyes beginning to subside slightly as he just sighed quietly and looked out to sea. Treva was right about to speak to him again when suddenly she was interrupted by a voice from above.

"That's the reason he gave up his time of Judgment…" Davy Jones said from the Helm, looking down at them both with an expression of contempt. "The futile love for his son, and the want to see him again. But of course, when he was promised this he didn't realize just how much of his humanity he would lose…"

"I know of my mistakes, it is not necessary to point them out…" Bill attempted to contain the anger in his voice. "The past has been dredged up enough, and there is little future for any of us. I'm…letting my wish die…" he walked off and down into the bowels of the ship. Treva was going to stop him, wishing there was something she could say to comfort him, but she reasoned he may want to spend this time alone instead.

She looked up at the Captain disdainfully. "Why are you always so cruel to those who serve you?" she was slightly angry, but confused as well. Here were many men as well as herself who had pledged their very existence to him, and yet he treated none of them with any sort of respect or thankfulness. But then, she supposed that a pirate as hardened as Davy Jones probably thought of little outside himself.

"And why do I owe any of you pity? I gave Bill what _he wanted_, the chance to see his child again; it is not my fault he's too cowardly to face William in his altered state…" the Captain's wooden leg stabbed against the floor as he walked down the stairs slowly. "And you will learn to speak to me with more respect, unless you want our bargain thrown out…"

Treva gulped but kept with her expression of slight anger. Davy Jones approached her without a word, and then suddenly he reached out and seized a handful of her hair in his slimy hand. She yelped and winced with pain as he snarled down at her. "I don't like your tone, or your manners. You might have been some high society gentlewoman when you were on land, but out here you're nothing but a scullery maid and nothing more." He let go of her harshly, letting her drop onto the floorboards before he returned to the quiet of his quarters deep into the ship. She listened to his footsteps slowly disappear, then got back up and continued with her duties.

She knew Davy Jones could easily turn back on the promise he'd made to her, and being a pirate he would do so in the blink of an eye if he questioned her loyalty. Though in her mind she was always tossing about possibilities on how to escape, first she wanted to satisfy her curiosity about both Bill and the Captain of the Flying Dutchman himself. Regardless of the masks they wore and how much humanity they each had left, there was more to them than she could see on the surface. And perhaps if she could discover what was troubling them both, she could find a way to improve upon the darkness of this ship before she ever attempted to flee from this fate.

'Tonight, I'm going to pay a little visit to the Captain…'


	9. The Lullaby

At midnight, the music began once again, just like it did every night. Treva was already waiting up by the door on the deck, making sure she kept to the shadows so she wasn't seen by any of the other crewmembers. Beauregard had fallen asleep only moments before, more bored obviously watching her work than she was finishing it. She hadn't seen Bill since the evening and assumed he'd went to bed, and by this time most of the crew was either asleep or in a drunken stupor. She watched as some of them stirred and shifted when the bellowing music seeped through the cracks and into the air above, praying that none of them awoke to see her sneaking about. She simply followed the music through the labyrinthine corridors of the ship; the Flying Dutchman was an impressive vessel regardless of its age and wear, and it almost seemed to go on forever when she would venture through it alone. She stopped only once to make sure Meris was fast asleep in the small closet, which he was, before she continued onwards towards the Captain's quarters.

The door into his chambers was slightly ajar, revealing the flickering light of some hanging lanterns and some candles that swayed back and forth on his desks and tabletops. She slowly approached and peered through the small space she'd been allowed, and watched as the Captain played his organ. His mutated hands were unable to play the keys, and instead the countless tentacles that had sprouted from his face did the playing instead as she watched. His expression looked pained, but she couldn't tell if it was from pure sadness, or longing. The melody that escaped from the pipes sounded to her like the combination of a love song and a funeral march, the rare cheerful moments of the song always struck down almost immediately by a dark twist of sound. She listened and watched through the sound as he played the rapid and churning melody, until finally he came to a stop. But not before he emitted a moan that traveled alongside and died with the final notes of the song, and his head slowly slumped downwards as he began to fall asleep, all his emotions seemingly shed from him.

As she slowly began to creep the door open, she halted when Davy Jones suddenly reached up his tentacled hand and twisted the small crank of a music box sitting beside him, and a soft, haunting song suddenly filled the air as he allowed himself to slumber. Once she was positive he was asleep, Treva carefully crept into the room, keeping her steps light and gentle as she approached the Captain and the massive organ. She halted beside where he slept, keeping as much distance as she could without knocking into his cluttered shelves. She looked down at the music box, listening as it chimed a small lullaby. She couldn't help but smile very faintly; she recognized the melody as a song she had used to sing to Meris when he was an infant. It was a well-known and somewhat sorrowful tune that her husband had taught her long before Meris was ever born, and it was one of her favorite songs.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the Captain stirred where he sat slumbering, and she gently reached down and took the music box into her hand as the song began to slow and soften. She looked the small device over, finally turning it to see it's underside, and was surprised to seeing an inscription scrawled into the shimmering surface of it.

"To the bravest pirate I have ever known…love-" Treva suddenly slipped slightly but swiftly caught herself…by pressing her hands on the keys of the organ. The sound blasted from the instrument like a demon unleashed and shook the entire room, and Davy Jones was almost instantly awakened. She went to quickly put back the music box where she had picked it up, but found Davy's crab-like hand painfully gripping her wrist. She released it, and the small trinket clanged slightly as it came to rest once more on the surface of the organ. So much anger burned in his eyes that she feared it was over then and there, that he'd simply tear out the rest of her like he'd done her heart and then do the same to Meris. She shook as a few seconds passed with just her shaking breaths and his heavy ones. She'd obviously startled him a bit, and he looked angry enough to do everything she feared he might.

"You wench…" he hissed angrily, throwing her into the shelves of his belongings. Several objects toppled and struck her, books and other small, dusty items that seemed untouched for years. Davy stabbed his hand into the wall so the sharp edges of it rested within an inch to either side of her throat. "Your disobedience will cost you this time…perhaps I was unwise to give you any sort of mercy or benefit…" he hissed, his enraged expression bearing down at her.

Treva shaking lifted her hand, pointing to the music box, which was very slowly playing once more since it had been jarred by her dropping it. "It's just…that song…I remember it…I used to sing it to Meris…when he was a baby…" she said, her voice shaking thoroughly. She half expected him to simply behead her for intruding.

Davy Jones turned and looked down at the music box before his gaze returned back to her, and he was silent for a moment, as though he were deeply contemplating something. His expression was beginning to falter once more, like it had when she'd been speaking with him after she'd been released.

"Sing it then." It was a command, not a request. He took the music box into his crab-like hand and took her by her hair with his tentacled one, and began to drag her outside into the open night air. All the crew members attending to their duties up there all paused in their movement, stopping to see the spectacle he was making out of her.

Without repeating his command, he began to wind the music box using the small crank, and it began to play gently. In the silence, the music sounded so much quieter than it had in the solace of Davy Jones's quarters. Waiting for it to repeat the melody from the beginning, Treva waited for it to repeat before she nervously sang all three verses of the lullaby, her voice soft and shaking slightly.

_"I remember all of those days,_

_When we'd gaze out into the sea,_

_Under a spell I hadn't seen_

_As it took you from me._

_Wrapped within its cold embrace,_

_Watching where the sea meets sky,_

Singing, praying, into the wind 

_A forlorn lullaby._

_Through the darkness, all through the night,_

_I hear you though we are apart,_

Through the storms, and crashing of waves 

_The beating of your heart."_

A tense silence followed as she watched the Captain's expression slowly fall, until it was clear that a deep sadness dwelt within him. Treva also saw Bill watching from the behind the other members of the crew, his own expression that of sorrow. She was now certain that something drastic had happened to them both, and the inscription came back to mind as she watched the Captain wordlessly tuck away the music box into the folds of his stained and rotted robes. She stood there quietly as everyone shuffled back to their duties in silence, and the Captain didn't even continue his scolding of her for having intruded into his quarters.

_"To the bravest pirate I have ever known,_

_Love, Maria."_


	10. The Roots of Sadness

"Lost love." It was all Bill would mention as he tied down the rigging while Meris "helped" him with it. The small boy had very little strength, but Bill praised him for the effort. Treva titled her head slightly and blinked, remembering the expression Captain Jones had worn last night as she'd sang the lullaby before the whole crew.

"Was he married?" Treva asked, pondering the specifics. But Bill wouldn't tell her anything else related to what was in the Captain's past.

Well, his simple explanation at least helped her understand the faint sadness that would sometimes overcome Davy Jones; through his demeanor was usually cold and cruel, Treva sensed he was repressing any other emotions that might lie within. Regardless of his heart having been severed, he still seemed a slave in part to whatever had led him to this.

Treva, however, was able to learn more about Bill's own past. That evening, after Meris had fallen asleep, he was helping her in her endless cleaning duties. "I really am thankful for everything you've done to help with Meris…" Treva said quietly, on her hands and knees once more scrubbing at the deck with all her might. "You…would make a great father." She admitted it was a bit of an underhanded thing to say, since she knew that Bill had a son, but she was hoping to start a conversation with him.

Bill's expression drooped slightly, as though a burden had suddenly appeared upon him. "I wish I could believe the same, Treva…I haven't seen Will since he was an infant…far too long ago for him to even know who I am…" his voice was quiet, as though it had dawned on him just how long it had truly been. "But I am thankful for the space the sea has placed between us. I would never want to curse my son with having to see me like this…" his raspy voice echoed slightly off the walls of the ship. Treva looked at him sadly; she could sense a lot of pain in his voice, and the way he looked.

"What was it that happened to you Bill…? That brought you on board the Flying Dutchman…" she asked, and for a moment he was silent, as though he were collecting his thoughts before he explained it.

"It started years ago…I was once a member of Captain Jack Sparrow's crew aboard the mythical ship, the Black Pearl…" his expression seemed to lighten for a mere moment before it darkened once more. "Times were good at first, but people started questioning the authority of Captain Sparrow…it was only after two years of serving under him that he was mutinied against by his first mate, Barbossa…I hadn't supported the uprising at all, in fact, I was the only one who stood up for him…but I knew I wouldn't be able to make a difference…

After he was cast overboard and left to die on an island, we discovered the treasure we'd been seeking. But it turned out to be cursed gold, that of Cortez that had he taken from the blood and death of the Aztecs…all of us on board were enveloped by the dark magic. We became a part of the undead, nothing could satisfy or please us anymore…it was like being only half alive, as though your senses had died away. But to me…I thought it was a suitable punishment, for the crew having thrown Captain Sparrow off the ship. So in order to make sure it stayed with us…I sent a piece of gold to my son William, to ensure there would be no escape. I know that probably doesn't make much sense to you…but to me, it was divine justice.

The rest of the crew was less than joyful of my decision to condemn us all…they tied my bootstraps to a heavy cannonball and threw me overboard, and I sank all the way to the cold, dark depths of the sea. It was Hell down there…the curse kept me alive through the agonizing pain of having all that water crushing down upon me…of being bitten at by whatever passed…but it was the loneliness that took its toll. Thinking I would be down there for forever…" he paused and shook slightly, remembering the prospect of that fate. "But then…I was discovered when the Flying Dutchman was traveling through the depths one night. Captain Jones gave me the option to serve him, or I was to remain where I was. I figured this life had to be better than being trapped down there...little did I know this was just a different kind of Hell…"

"But this has to be better…right…?" Treva asked, speaking quietly. "I mean…even though Captain Jones and his crew are cruel…at least you're not alone anymore…"

"I suppose so…but at the same time, there was a sense of defeat in my agreeing to become a part of this crew…"

"And what was that…?" she asked softly.

"Even under the curse…I was still at least human. Even if I appeared monstrous in the revealing moonlight, my soul was still alive within me…" he said in little more than a whisper. "That is why Davy Jones is sometimes regarded as the Devil himself…he takes the only eternal part of a person, their soul, and makes it his own. Even when I was cursed, I still had my soul…I could still call myself Bootstrap Bill Turner…now, I'm not sure what to make of myself…if I still am human in part, or a monster…"

"You are more human than other pirates I've seen…" Treva attempted to assure him. "Appearances mean nothing, the transformation we're both undergoing does not make us like Davy Jones and the rest of his crew…"

"No…not yet…" Bill said ominously as he stood and began to walk away. "But soon…Treva…when my transformation does finally become complete…" he turned to face her, a mixed expression of sadness and uncertainty on his face. "Then you may no longer have an ally on board the Flying Dutchman…"


	11. You Shall Succumb

Bill slumped into an empty corner of the ship, his downcast expression focused on watching the darkness of nighttime slow seep over the ship. A rebellious cloud was beginning to envelope the moon overhead, and he watched as slowly the Flying Dutchman slipped into total darkness.

It was times like this where Bill found it hardest to find peace or solace, when there was nothing to be done and he was left alone to his own thoughts. Lately, those thoughts were beginning to grow darker as well, beginning to change and distort just as his physical appearance was. Memories that had been precious to him all these years were beginning to fade, and he was beginning to forget who he was before all this had happened. The only remembrances that remained strong within his mind were only the painful times, of the betrayal on board the Black Pearl, of Barbossa's choice of punishment for him…and the feeling of having his soul taken from him…

Bill clenched his face in his hand, his flesh feeling as though it were burning as his transformation entered into some of the final stages. It wouldn't be much longer before there wasn't a trace of his human appearance left, and then there would be no hope…

"When will you realize that all hope has been lost?" the voice of the Captain startled him to say the least; he'd thought he was alone. He didn't look up towards Davy Jones, who was standing a few feet away and looking down at him apathetically. "Did you ever truly believe that this kind of life would really give you another chance to be a father to your son? That you would somehow get back whatever life you had before you surrendered yourself to the sea, and your soul to me…?"

Bill opened his mouth to say something, but for a moment nothing came out. "No…it was only a pipe dream, but it was something…it was better than giving up…"

"This isn't about giving up, it's about giving in…you've lasted the longest among any of the crewmembers I've taken board this ship. Most lose their sanity and shed their humanity within a few weeks, but you…you've held out like this for all this time…" the Captain began to pace in a semi-circle around him, and Bill couldn't help but feel as though Davy Jones's very words were slowly robbing him of the little resistance he had left.

"Just because you gave in, doesn't mean I have to…" Bill said, and the Captain glared down at him with a burning expression.

"You swore yourself into my service, which means whatever it is you're clinging to now is interfering with that promise. If you'd rather die and become a midnight feast for the Kraken, I can always have that arranged…"

"No!" Bill looked up at him, his expression somewhere between pleading and saddened. "After all I've been through…to end my life now, after all I've been through all these years…I can't…"

Davy Jone's mouth curled into a faint smirk. "You fear a lot for having been a pirate, Bootstrap Bill…but then, most mortal men are afraid of dying…and of many other things, like being alone…just like where you were when I found your undead carcass under the sea…I can still remember that…"

Bill's breathing shook as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He didn't want to remember that…of all things…

"Yes, your skeletal remains just wafting in the undercurrent of the ocean, down where it was dark but the moonlight still cut through enough to reveal the awful curse you and the rest of the Black Pearl's crew had brought on yourselves…" Davy Jones said, and Bill just sat there, attempting to repress the memories he knew the Captain was attempting to dredge up. "I must have been awful, being down there in the cold and the endless darkness around you…and yet, still having enough light to see what you've become…"

"Why are you saying this?" it came out as a hiss, but one of both sadness and anger. "I know of the mistakes I've made and the trials I've faced…why do you plague me with having to remember them again and again…"

"Because they're all that's keeping you from being a true member of my crew, and I'm tired of watching you wallow in the sadness that once gripped you…" Bill could smell the odor of dank smoke as the Captain lit his pipe and took a deep breath from it. "You need to realize that what I've given you is an escape from all that, a chance to start this damned thing we call life over again…"

"And as this, something so completely inhuman…" Bill winced as he felt his skin beginning to crawl as the alterations continued slowly and painfully. "Just how will becoming as monstrous as everyone else on board help me…?"

"Think of it, Bill…" the Captain looked down at him with a domineering gaze. "What's there left for you to regain of your old life? Your son? He won't even recognize you like this, nor will he want to remember a father that all but abandoned him…"

Bill was about to argue, but then a terrible pain settled in when he realized that what the Captain was saying…was true. He had abandoned Will, as well as his child's mother, all for this life of piracy that had brought him here. His words of protest withered as they were about to come out, and he just hung his head.

"There is nothing left for you outside of this ship, and the waters I command…" Davy Jones said, his voice becoming a bit softer, but not in any sort of comforting way. "It's time for you to let go, to shed these illusions of hope and regaining humanity…what's really so promising about being human again anyways? It's obvious even if you weren't this way…you wouldn't be able to have any of the life you had before…"

It was these words that changed everything in Bill, that tore away the last few strands of his resistance against the second curse he had brought upon himself. A sudden cold came over him, like a shroud or some sort of entity that had entered into him, but it was far more welcoming than the cold he'd felt before he'd been discovered. The pain and agony he'd always experienced suddenly vanished as his ravaged body accepted finally what was happening to it and relaxed, allowing the growths to sprout and his form to alter without resistance anymore.

Davy Jones's usual smirk slowly slid back onto his face as he took another deep breath from the pipe and the smoke spewed from the openings to both sides of his mouth. "There, now your transformation will be complete in a matter of days, and you can live without the pain you did before…" he spoke as though what he'd convinced Bill had been of a merciful nature, when in reality it was anything but this. Bill just nodded, his gaze still downtrodden, but he lacked the constant look of sorrow that it had been frozen as for so long.

The Captain turned and began to leave the room, his gaze becoming angered slightly once more as he walked out into the faint moonlight outside. "Now if I can just get that damned woman to succumb…"


	12. Things Have Changed

Treva noticed the change in Bill's demeanor almost immediately, though she withheld from saying anything about it. He was more quiet than he'd been before, and more distant from her and Meris during their daily chores and duties. The child would sometimes attempt to cheer him up, but it was to no avail. Bill would simply scowl slightly and turn away, or ignore Meris altogether.

When nights would come and the Flying Dutchman was to submerge itself deep into the water, Meris and Treva would stay up on a rotted lifeboat that was attached to the ship. It was essential she remembered to do this since no one else would remember to attached the lifeboat and get him onto it before it disappeared beneath the water, or the child would drown in the murky depths. While they were up on the boat being towed or hovering above where the ship had come to rest, they would both either sleep or speak quietly to one another. Treva knew they were safe since Davy Jones kept any dangerous sea creatures tamed around his ship, and thus they wouldn't be attacked when they were alone and vulnerable.

"Mommy…what do you think is wrong with Bill…?" Meris asked curiously, looking down through the waters to where the Flying Dutchman rested below. The faint shapes of the crew moving about could be seen moving across the surface of the ship.

Treva sighed and looked up at the stars; it was thankfully a clear night tonight and no sign of rain or a storm. "I'm not sure Meris, maybe something has happened we're not aware of…" she said thoughtfully, wondering herself what could have brought about such a drastic change in her only friend on board the ship. "I'm worried about him too Meris, but we need to remember that Bill might just want to be alone for a while…"

"But I miss helping him rig the fishing nets, or going up to the Crow's Nest with him at night, or helping him carry the crates and other things…" Meris said sadly, his light blue eyes threatening to well up with tears. "We used to talk a lot too, he'd tell me all his adventures back when he was a pirate on the Black Pearl…sometimes he even reminded me of daddy…" Treva stiffened a little when he said this, but didn't say anything. She just stroked his hair gently and hoped it would comfort him. "Maybe Bill just really misses his son right now…"

Treva nodded, deep in thought as she wrapped an arm around Meris and held him tight, hoping that he would fall asleep before he got himself too saddened to do so. She couldn't imagine being separated from her own son; even though she knew he disliked being on board the Flying Dutchman and the dangers he was faced with each day, the risks involved with trying to get him off board were too great for her to ever try. Davy Jones tended to keep his ship far away from any trace of land unless it was absolutely necessary for them to be; she knew the Captain was cursed with only one opportunity every ten years to walk on land, and thus he stayed away from it. And since any passing vessels ended up the Kraken's ravenous meals whenever they came too close, there was no chance of passing him off to someone else either. Treva was left with little else but the hope that she could either find a safer way to free him, or find a way to convince the Captain to let him go. But she saw lesser chance of her second option, since the Captain had tricked her into having her son trapped on board the ship in the first place.

When the day finally broke and Meris was still asleep in his now wet little room, Treva went looking for Bill and found him beginning to climb the rigging and masts up to the towering Crow's Nest that overlooked the entire ship.

"Bill, I need to speak to you about something…" she said, but Bill didn't even turn to face her as he responded with an almost annoyed tone.

"I don't have the time for idle talk…unless you haven't noticed, the Captain doesn't like it when we put off our duties…" he said, but Treva just began to climb after him as he continued upwards. The ropes were wet and slippery and she nearly fell at several instances, but she followed after him as best she could.

"Bill, I can tell something is wrong…that's why I'm trying to talk to you, I just wanted to make sure you're okay…"

"Well, take a good look at me then…I look okay to you don't I? As all right as anyone can be on this godforsaken vessel…"

Treva paused as she listened to him speak. "Listen to yourself Bill, your entire demeanor has changed. You used to be sad but…that was justified…now you seem more bitter than anything. Did something happen to you?" she yelped as she slid down a few feet but managed to regain her hold on the ropes. A few crewmen laughed below her and she glared down at them before she continued her ascent.

"What's happened to me is none of your concern Treva…" he spat slightly, grasping onto the bottom of the small platform that jutted out around the Crow's Nest. He put both hands onto it and hoisted himself up over it and the railing, crossing the small area and sitting down at the far end of it. Treva managed to make it up there but couldn't get the proper footing to get herself up onto it, and instead leaned over the railing looking at him confusedly.

"I don't understand Bill, I thought we were friends…you always listened when I had troubles or concerns, I just wanted to do the same for you…" she said gently, and for a moment Bill's usual sadness seemed to come back to the surface and he looked ready to speak honestly. But it was gone almost as quickly as it had come and just looked at her with faint aggravation.

"I don't have time to chatter…you should return to your own duties before the Captain sees your absent from the main deck…" he said, turning his head away from her and looking down at the ship with a blank gaze. Treva repressed the urge to keep pursuing what was wrong and just sighed, beginning a slow climb down towards the ship once again. It was even more awkward for her to go down since she had to resist actually looking down. She had a bit of a fear of heights and knew if she ended up stuck out of fear there wasn't anyone who was going to help her back down.

The moment she got down Meris immediately raced by her. "My turn to climb now mommy!" Treva grabbed onto his collar before he got too high and pulled him back down before he could continue, and the boy muttered angrily as she pulled him back down as gently as she could an unruly child. "Did you get a chance to talk to Bill mommy…?" he asked in all seriousness as she carried him away from the rigging.

"Yes, but…he's not in a good mood Meris, I think you should just stay away from him for a little while, okay…?" she said, but the boy just looked down sadly. "I know you want to help him Meris, I do too but…I don't think he really wants to talk or be around anyone right now…"

Davy Jones watched as Treva and Meris disappeared into the ship; he scowled as he turned and looked out to sea where they were headed. The waves were beginning to pick up in their ferocity, but he could sense there was calmer weather ahead. A perfect chance for them to spot a few more potential victims for the Kraken since any merchants or pirates would do what they could to avoid the forming storm. Still the prospect of this didn't counter entirely the sudden impatience he had towards Treva; he had thought that breaking Bill would not only have him succumb to the transformation, but get her to as well. He knew that Bill had been her only real ally on board this ship; perhaps he just needed to give it some more time before she finally did give in.

"Keep a lookout for any vessels that might appear…" Davy Jones hissed towards his right-hand man before he took the wheel at the Helm once more, steering the ship towards the clear skies that lied just beyond where the clouds were forming overhead. The winds were beginning to pick up and the waves crashed against the side of the ship as though they were attempting to pull it down and trap it there. Davy had always admired the tenacity of the storms at sea and how fierce they could be, though at some moments his own dark memories would surface…


	13. A Good Opportunity

"What's this now here then?" Jack muttered, having fallen against a poster that was mounted on the wall of the bar; half illegible now thanks to rum that had been splashed against it. He was still partially drunk and thus his sight and speech weren't at their sharpest, but Will was at least there to read it aloud anyways.

"It's about that Admiral's wife that went missing apparently…" Will said, though he was surprised that a notice like that would appear in such a seedy place like Tortuga. They had been forced to stop there after they had departed from Tia Dalma's jungle home since the Black Pearl had been taking on too much water for comfort. It seemed that when it had been beached on the island of the Pintacost, a large gash had formed on its side and needed to be repaired. Luckily, on Tortuga there were plenty of places they could get it fixed without the wary eye of anyone from England catching a glimpse of the infamous ship.

Jack blinked and nonchalantly ripped the poster off the wall and took a good look at it. "Says the Admiral's wife and son disappeared during an afternoon rowboat trip along the coast…" Will said, looking at it as well.

"You know, while it's a common fact that most pirates cannot read, I can…" Jack said with a small, drunken smirk before he hiccupped slightly and looked back at the poster. "Says they vanished without a trace too, which gives me the feeling that only one being could be responsible for this…"

"Sharks maybe?" Will offered, but Jack paused and looked at him as though he'd just said something completely implausible.

"And they that I'm ignorant…" Jack said, sauntering back towards the bar and avoiding the miscellaneous fistfights that were going on around the bar. It seemed no one could ever hold their liquor or temperament when they were in Tortuga; of course, there was no one there that would tell them what to do anyways. "No no…to vanish without a trace…that would be the work of Davy Jones…"

Will looked a little shocked as Jack said this with some seriousness in his voice. "But why would he bother to take the wife and child of an Admiral…I mean, I doubt the Navy is any ally of his, but still…"

Jack shrugged and snatched up another half-filled bottle of dank rum as a dagger flew dangerously close over his head. He took little notice of it and smirked faintly. "I dunno, maybe he's looking to finally settle down…?"

Will rolled his eyes slightly and looked around at smoke-filled bar around them. As he did this Jack folded up the poster and tucked it into his back pocket with a last glimpse at the portrait of the family that had been broken apart.

On the one hand, it filled him with a very hidden sense of dread; if Davy Jones were willing to do something horrific to a mother and child, his own fate would probably be a hundred times worse. But on the other hand, this gave him more of a chance of convincing Will to help him find the key to the Dead Man's chest. He knew Will had a soft heart, especially when it came to justice and loss and all that…if Davy Jones still had the woman and child on board his ship, then Will would more than likely volunteer to help them. The whole suggestion of having Will help settle his debt to Captain Jones hadn't seemed to won him over earlier; perhaps this would end up being to his benefit more than he would have assumed at first. Jack didn't intend for his companion nor for anyone else involved in this to end up in the undead Captain's debt forever, but his plan needed to go into action first before he could be assured everything would work out without anyone getting hurt, and without losing the Black Pearl once again.

"It's really too bad, isn't it? About the Admiral's wife and child and all…" Jack followed after his companion as Will went to check on the repairs of the Black Pearl. "Can you imagine the horrors they must be witnessing on board that ship as we speak?"

Will paused and turned to look at him. "I don't intend to leave them on board the Flying Dutchman when we leave to find Davy Jones…" he said with a determined tone. "If Davy Jones's is as dangerous as Tia Dalma made him sound, then it's essential we get there as soon as we can…"

Jack grinned as Will turned and inspected the progress so far on the Black Pearl's repairs, looking up towards the sky and put his hands together as though he were praying. "Thanks be to the Jennings family…"

As the Flying Dutchman finally reached the quiet waters, Treva turned in wonder and looked at the now raging storm behind them. The rest of the sky around them was light and welcoming, but the storm they had avoided looked like an awful, sickly spot amongst the beautiful sea and sky around them. The air was crisp with the smell of salt and the overturned sea bottom from the storm as she used a dulled knife to scrap away at the mussels that were embedded into the railing around the ship. A few raindrops pattered onto her as she listened to the distant thunder rumble; it sounded much like the hungered roar of the Kraken, which was lurking beneath the ship at the moment. The Flying Dutchman rocked slightly as the monstrous creature bumped against the bottom of it, impatiently awaiting a ship for it to seize.

It didn't take long for such a cry to ring out. Treva was startled as the foreboding bell began to ring overhead that a ship had been spotted, and she looked up to see it herself. It was still very faint, approaching them from the distance and hidden partially in the mist being generated just outside the storm. Davy Jones immediately turned his gaze to it as the crewmembers gathered to the sides of the ship, looking ready to see some blood spilt. It sickened Treva to see just how demonic they had become at times.

Davy Jones turned and held up his spyglass to get a better look at their new target; he growled slightly as he made out the faint insignia on it. "Navy…" he snarled, then looking down to his ravenous crew. They appeared ready to jump overboard and swim to see some bloodshed.

Treva continued watching as the ship neared until she realized what ship it was and seemed rooted where she stood. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach and her scaly skin paled severely as she realized she knew the ship that was approaching them. Davy Jones noted her suddenly shock and smirked down towards her.

"What be that ship out there…? Perhaps a comrade of your husband's…?" he sneered, attempting to mock her, but she just took in a shaky breath and rested her hand over the gaping wound where her heart had been.

"No…it's…my husband's ship…the Ancient Mariner…"


End file.
